Review by Carl on July 7, 2022.

It sickens my heart (and I mean this in a very good way) to see that gory, old-styled grindcore/death metal seems to be making a return, after quite some time of hanging around in the background while old school death metal, goregrind and brutal death/slam were hogging the spotlight. These last few years there have been some truly great releases by bands such as Pharmacist, Galvanizer, Filtheater, Cadaveric Incubation and very recently Massacred, and among these handsome folk we can also situate Heinous and their debut full length The Basement.

Heinous do not reinvent the wheel here (thankfully), but they deliver the goods in a highly enjoyable and energetic manner. Though not the most original, what they may lack in that category they more than make up for in frothing-at-the-mouth unhinged energy. Savage blasting grindcore parts trade off with slower, early Carcass-like sections, all delivered with hardcore punk energy, creating short sharp shocks of death/grind ferocity, drenched in distortion and feedback. On top of this vile and lethal mixture are the low vocals that have me thinking of bands like Regurgitate and (again) Carcass, and combined with the Repulsion/Disastrous Murmur/early Pungent Stench influenced music, we get an acidic concoction that delivers some serious jabs to the abdomen. Poured into a clear but not overdone production, it all comes bursting out of the speakers without sacrificing the underground spirit this music needs to emanate to stay convincing, and let me tell you, convincing this is for sure! Too bad it's all over in 18 minutes.

This is a very good release in all its aspects: the music tears you a new one without effort, while it all sounds and looks awesome. Playing is tight, the songs are raucous and even catchy at times, and the great cover art makes this a delicious package of death/grind mayhem that should be able to please everyone into the genre.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on September 26, 2022.

Razor represents a third of my personal triumvirate of classic Canadian metal. While Piledriver had the charm of a highly talented metal parody and Exciter appeared as a serious and hard working gang, Razor possessed a natural nonchalance. Their riffs conveyed the feeling of ease and heaviness at the same time and the band members wore sleeveless black leather jackets without blushing. Razor took the bull by the horns and started the album with a killer called "Take This Torch". Believe me, this blazing torch caused a real wildfire. Its evocative riffs had several effects. Your feet began to tap, your blood seemed to flow faster and your head started to bang while Stace "Sheepdog" McLaren impressed with his snotty voice. The furious drums and the lively bass guitar completed the picture. No doubt, this song belongs to the immortal anthems of speed metal.

"City of Damnation" also scored with sharp guitars and an irresistible drive. Its staccato background vocals characterised the chorus and the menacing aura of the song brought every poser to its knees. (I admit that this wording revitalises the eighties and I am sorry for being old-school.) Framed by the opener and "City of Damnation", the mid-paced and casual "Fast and Loud" came out of the blue. It represented the rare species of real metal party songs and was a nice contrast to the aforementioned tunes.

This outstanding trio at the beginning turned out to be a blessing and curse at the same time. Razor had to fight hard in order to keep the high quality standard. It was quite an impossible undertaking. "Escape the Fire" confirmed the song-writing skills of the band one more time. Its blazing riffs and the sharp-edged chorus did not lack of recognition value so that the slightly weaker solo part did not appear to be decisive. But with "March of Death" began a series of solid yet unspectacular speed songs. These tunes left an authentic impression and it was good to see that the band did not squint at the marketability of its pieces. Yet it could not be ignored that the strongest riffs had been placed at the beginning of the record and, of course, the riffs were the crucial success factor of the music that Razor performed. Even the powerful "Hot Metal" did not fully achieve the level of the first three songs. Its main riff was a lethal weapon, but the chorus fell short of expectations. It could unfortunately not be overlooked that the tumultuous band was running out of ideas, at the latest during pieces like "Deathrace" and "Time Bomb".

In terms of the production, everything stayed within an acceptable range. In particular after the release of the successor album ("Evil Invaders"), we knew that the drum sound on the here presented full-length gave no reason for complaint. The same applied for any other instrument. Finally, Sheepdog´s voice was neither outstanding nor powerless. In accordance with his comrades, he did a good job. However, after the barely noticed release of the rare "Armed and Dangerous", "Executioner's Song" catapulted the band onto the surface of the world wide speed metal scene and its highlights are still exciting.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10